Pistons owner Tom Gores to be more visible this season

Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores speaks to the media before the teams home opener against the Washington Wizards in an NBA basketball game in Auburn Hills, Mich., Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

AUBURN HILLS — Pistons owner Tom Gores sat courtside during the Pistons season opener Wednesday. A spot he sat on more than one occasion during the preseason.

Gores’ public appearances at The Palace were limited during his first two years as owner, but he has vowed to change that this season.

Gores felt he had to play a behind-the-scenes role in his first two years as owner and admitted there were things he needed to learn and adjust to.

After the Pistons’ offseason Gores feels the team is in a position to win and now it’s time for him to be more visible.

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“I think I was around in a way that I needed to be,” Gores said of his first two years as owner in a pregame press conference Wednesday. “I was behind the scenes in many ways the first couple years. Trust me, I’ve spent so much time on the Pistons these last couple years. My house is consumed with it. My family’s consumed with it. I’m consumed with it. The first few years were really transition time and a lot of behind the scenes.

“I feel like now that things have developed it’s time for me to be here. Joe (Dumars) and I have made a decision that we want to win now without sacrificing the future. That was our philosophy in the offseason, that we want to win now, but we can not sacrifice the future. I think we’ve played this out as good as you can and now we just have to perform.”

Gores believes the Pistons had a strong offseason by acquiring Josh Smith, Brandon Jennings and Chauncey Billups among others. Gores hoped the Pistons would make the playoffs last season and has even higher expectations this season.

“Very high expectations,” Gores said. “We expect the playoffs. I expected it last year. As I’ve said I’d be very disappointed if we don’t make it. It would be a huge disappointment if we didn’t make it. We have to be successful this year.

“I think we’ve done a lot in the offseason to really effect this team. We have attracted free agent talent that most folks in the league, including some of my friends said, ‘No way Detroit can do that.’ We really attracted them. We sold ourselves as a great city, good ownership, good basketball management and that we cared about the players. We got Josh Smith, Brandon Jennings. We brought Chauncey back. I have very, very high expectations. I’m very excited and a little bit nervous.”

Gores hope is if the team shows improvement this year then the fans will start to comeback. The Palace crowds last season were horrendous at times, something not lost on Gores, but he believes the fans will support a winner.

“I’ve been asked, ‘Are you disappointed with the fan response?’ The fact is, yes of course, but not because of the fans, because of the way we’ve performed,” Gores said. “My biggest fear is to disappoint the fans. I want to give them what they thought they got with me as a new owner and I want to deliver on that.

“Having grown up here, what I know about Detroit fans and Michigan fans is that they’ll show up, you just have to deserve them. I think if we do what it takes and we deserve them to be fans and in the stands, and rooting, they’ll be here. We have some of the best fans in the world.

“For me, a very big part of coming to Detroit and actually buying the team was knowing this fan base will show up, you just got to deserve them and I think that’s where we’re at right now.”

Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars is in the final year of his contract. Gores has declined to talk about an extension for Dumars, but said he expects Dumars to be the general manager for the foreseeable future.

“Early on I said to Joe, ‘We got to make changes.’ I think the thing Joe has done is he’s adjusted along the way,” Gores said. “Just like in my own business, I have to grow, I have to adjust, it’s all about getting better and not getting stuck in the old way. Joe has shown every sign of a person who can grow.

“He’s done amazing things with his own basketball operations. Ken (Catanella) and George (David) and that group, those are great young men that are smart. They compliment Joe’s talents. We had success in the offseason.

“Joe and I agreed we want to win now without sacrificing the future. That was our philosophy and then we went out and sold it. We got Josh Smith. We got Chauncey back. We made the Jennings move. I think a lot of people are surprised. I think once Joe and I really got hand-in-hand on things, we made a lot of things happen.”

A new downtown arena was also a topic of discussion during the Gores’ press conference. Gores is not opposed to the idea, but added it has to make sense.

“My point of view is it really has to be justified,” Gores said. “It’s got to be good for the Pistons, it also has to be good for the state. The state is putting up a lot of money for the stadium. We got a tough economy right now in Michigan. There’s a lot of things to do.

“To me, you have to prove the fact that we deserve to have one down there. This is really not just about the city of Detroit, this is really about the state of Michigan. I’m open to speaking to Dan (Gilbert), but I’m not going to do it just because everyone says do it. I’m going to do it if it’s good and it has substance, and there’s details behind it that say this is good for the city, good for the state, good for the fans of the Pistons and we’re not there yet.”

About the Author

Dave Pemberton has covered the Detroit Pistons for The Oakland Press since 2008. Prior to that he covered the Oakland University basketball team. Reach the author at dave.pemberton@oakpress.com
or follow Dave on Twitter: @drpemberton.